The United Kingdom, UK has revealed its plans to reduce the number of immigrants that troop into the country, News About Nigeria reports.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Home Office on Monday, where Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated that the new plan to slash migration levels and curtail the abuse of the immigration system will deliver the biggest-ever reduction in the country’s net migration.
The proposal which Sunak described as the biggest clampdown on legal migration ever, would according to him, involve the raising of minimum salary threshold for skilled workers visa and also prevent overseas health and social care staff from bringing family dependents to Britain.
Under plans set out by Interior Minister James Cleverly, workers will need to earn at least £38,700 to obtain a visa, which is an increase from £26,200, previously required, while care workers will be barred from bringing in dependants from next April.
According to the home office, this revision will motivate businesses to lean towards British talent first and invest in their workforce, helping the state to discourage employers from over-relying on migration, whilst bringing salaries in line with the average full-time salary for these types of jobs.
Cleverly further noted that his plan would result in 300,000 fewer people coming to the UK in the coming years.
However, critics have condemned the move, stating that it will damage the state-run National Health Service (NHS), which faces staff shortages.
They noted that immigration has been saving the social care sector, maintaining that changes that might deter care workers from coming to the UK were deeply concerning.